THE CRANKY OLD MAN
Random thoughts and stuff from a cranky old man. Humor (maybe)and satire, mostly stuff from a confused head.
I intend for this blog to be non-political. If I offer a political statement, rebuttals are permitted, however this blog is not for the unsolicited political opinions of others and as such those comments will be deleted and not published.
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Sunday, January 8, 2017

WHY IS THE USA A MULTILINGUAL SIGN COUNTRY

WHY IS THE USA A MULTILINGUAL SIGN COUNTRY

This cranky re-run is from January 2011

The USA is a melting pot for peoples and cultures from all over the world.Our citizens and visitors speak many different languages.I am not like many in our country decrying the fact that some in this great land do not learn to speak English.My objection is the proliferation of multilingual signs.

Printing signs in multiple languages is not cost effective, and I think it is insulting to those that do not speak English.If you see a big yellow sign on the floor with a picture of a dude slipping on his ass, is not “Caution Wet Floor” enough?What cretin, regardless of his preferred language does not figure this sign out?How many times do you need to see this sign before you learn that “Caution Wet Floor” means “Cuidado Piso Mojado”?

If you are going to a rest room and don’t speak English, which door do you take; “MEN” with a picture of a dude, or “WOMEN” with a picture of a dudette?If I spoke only Spanish I know I would be relieved to also see “Senor” or “Senora” because I would be too stupid to figure it out.

Maybe I have too much faith in mankind, but I think that a picture of a lit cigarette in a circle with a line through it would be enough for most people to figure out smoking is not permitted.If not, is it asking too much to expect Non-English speakers to learn that “No Smoking” means the same as “No Fume”?

In NYC the pedestrian signs only say “Walk” or “Don’t Walk”.I have never seen a confused foreigner standing on the curb unable to figure out when he is allowed to cross the street.

Do we really need our exits to be marked both “EXIT” and “SALIDA”? Maybe this is convenient for my Spanish friends, but I get confused.Is this the way out of the building, or will I end up standing in the salad line?

What happens to all the visitors of this country that speak neither English nor Spanish?It is just so sad to see all those foreigners falling on their asses running through the “Caution/Cuidado” signs, walking in unexpected to the wrong rest rooms, not knowing how to leave a building, and smoking like a chimney right under a “No Fume” sign.

Do we need to put up signs in every language that visitors or residents speak?Where do you stop?Signs in Russian, French, Japanese, Chinese (twenty dialects), Arabic, and Yiddish, would not only be mind boggling, but would still not cover everyone. What of people from India, or the twenty plus languages of our own Native Americans.

Do we need “No Parking” signs to also say “No paaking” for our Massachusetts residents?Do our signs really need to be multilingual?

One of my "biggest" gripes is the fact that people that immigrate legally or illegally to our country don't learn the language and we have to provide signs or interpreters to them. It amazes me that after being in a country 20-30 years people still don't know the language (I see this frequently in reports I type). My sister and her family lived in the Netherlands for 2 years a few years back for her husband's work. They were not provided a translator. If they didn't know the language and didn't bring someone with them to interpret for them, it was basically "tough luck." I truly believe if you are going to live in a country that is not your country of birth, you really need to learn the language. Of course there are those that this is their country of birth and they still don't know the language.

I think the wet floor sign might be more effective if a puddle were drawn under the man's legs, so there's no confusion at all, no one would think he is merely leaping about like a circus performer. You do have a good point though. People living or traveling to, an English speaking country should know enough English to understand the signage.

When i was in Greece, the signs were in Greek, which i didn't speak. If they had pictures, i understood anyway. And i memorized enough words in Greek (with their alphabet) to figure out a few things. It's really not that difficult.

Years ago I worked as a department store display manager and my boss required me to hang signs in Spanish. Since Mexican schools all taught English I figured most of the people looking at these signs were illiterate and had no idea those signs were written in Spanish.

It's probably cheaper for the companies to make these signs in several languages and then ship one version off to various countries.

There is one brand of chocolate that I like from childhood. It's sold here in the States, too - with a label in seven languages. Imagine being told you eat too much fat and sugar in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, and Arabic!

Sometimes I appreciate the bilingual signs. I try to learn a couple of foreign words. However, reading and studying these signs slows me down. Takes me twice as long to enter a bathroom, cross a street, etc. Very funny post. I enjoyed reading.

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About Me

I am 70 years old, I have 4 children 45,42,40 and 18;and 5 grandchildren 13-6
. Divorced twice, married three times. I worked on Wall Street for 40 years after graduating from Lafayette College in 1968. I have turned to writing as since retirement I needed something to tell people "What the F*** I do." Published one book "Maybe It's Just Me!" available at Amazon, soon to release my second, "I Used To Be Stupid."
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